South Korea plans to deploy a second unit of its ground-based laser anti-aircraft weapon, "Cheon Gwang" (Skylight), near Seoul to shoot down North Korean drones, following the Presidential Office's return from Yongsan to Cheong Wa Dae in December after about three years and seven months, according to sources.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Young-seung recently visited the 1st Air Defense Brigade of the Capital Defense Command, which is responsible for "Seoul airspace defense," to inspect mission readiness. A first unit is currently in operational use on the rooftop of the Joint Warfighting Simulation Center (JWSC) building under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, located within the Ministry of National Defense compound in Yongsan, Seoul.
According to military authorities on the 24th, the second unit of the laser anti-aircraft weapon "Cheon Gwang," dubbed the Korean version of Star Wars, will be installed at an air defense position near Seoul under the responsibility of the 1st Air Defense Brigade of the Capital Defense Command, which safeguards the ground and airspace of the capital.
In December 2022, a North Korean drone penetrated airspace over Yongsan, where the Presidential Office was located, sparking controversy. In response, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration deployed Cheon Gwang near the Yongsan Presidential Office. With the Lee Jae-myung administration's return to Cheong Wa Dae, an additional unit is being installed as part of countermeasures against North Korean drones.
Cheon Gwang will undergo deployment as early as April and carry out defense (interception) missions protecting key national facilities, including government buildings, from North Korean drones and other threats flying toward Seoul.
"The laser anti-aircraft weapon has been mass-produced normally according to the planned schedule and is being stored by the manufacturer," a military official said. "Site preparation and power supply construction are currently underway at the air defense position near Seoul, and the second unit is scheduled to be deployed in April after construction is completed."
Cheon Gwang is a weapon developed by military authorities with an investment of 87.1 billion won ($64 million) from 2019 through last year, and it received combat suitability certification in April 2023. It is a hard-kill weapon system that directly projects laser light generated from optical fiber onto targets to neutralize them.
With a reported output of 20㎾, Cheon Gwang is a fixed ground-based system. It is designed to intercept drones such as multicopters or small unmanned aerial vehicles. During system development and test evaluation, it achieved a 100% hit rate against both small drones and multicopters at a distance of approximately 3 kilometers.
It can be operated with only an electricity supply, and each shot costs about 2,000 won. Cheon Gwang, which is the size of a standard container, is operated by three personnel: a fire command chief, a launch controller, and a linkage controller. It is said to be the world's first operational deployment of an anti-aircraft laser weapon aimed at intercepting small drones.
Cheon Gwang is invisible and silent. It does not require separate ammunition and can detect and aim at targets within seconds, enabling immediate engagement. However, it has the drawback of being unable to function properly in bad weather, such as rain, snow, fog, or clouds.
Starting with the sequential deployment of Cheon Gwang at key buildings in Seoul, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff's JWSC, military authorities plan to deploy the weapon in stages by 2027. The systems are expected to be installed near key national facilities, including government buildings, nuclear power plants, airports, and seaports.
